Patient simulators are life-like manikins that react physiologically as if they were alive.

SimBaby® gets a check-up.

They are integrated with computer software that lets them replicate normal and abnormal bodily responses to events (such as an asthma attack) and therapeutic interventions (such as a drug side effect). Their heart, blood vessels, lungs and gastrointestinal tract can be made to respond to any number of human interventions. A defibrillator can deliver a live shock to the body. An intravenous needle will penetrate the skin. Simulated blood can be pumped into the veins through an IV tube. In short, they are the next best thing to a human patient — without a real person's vulnerability.

This SimMan's name is Samaritan.
Our patient simulators have names
to increase our empathy for their "humanness."

High-fidelity manikin-based simulators gives students at SMU the opportunity to immerse themselves in a simulated clinical scenario that looks and feels real. The combination of the simulator and the environment created by the HSSC team allows the students to suspend disbelief and to care for the simulator as if it were a real patient, not a manikin.

We have four of these full-body Laerdal manikins, which register most of the vital signs used in emergency medicine. Each one comes with its own patient monitor that also displays X-rays and 12-lead echocardiograms. During a scenario the manikin's anatomy can be modified (from the Control Room) to show changes in the patient's condition or responses to an intervention, so learners reach a diagnosis from observation, not from instructor cues.

We have two of Laerdal's full-body infant manikins, which allow students to demonstrate their ability to treat an infant or toddler. SimBaby® responds physiologically, via computer, to the care being given. A realistic airway allows for training in all aspects of infant airway management. The manikin's anatomy can be dramatically changed to represent conditions such as tongue edema, pharyngeal swelling or laryngospasm. SimBaby® has an IV arm and IV/IO legs, for practicing peripheral intravenous and intraosseus therapy.

This is an interactive simulator designed by Laerdal in collaboration with the American Academy of Pediatrics to meet the training requirements of the Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP). SimNewB™ accurately represents a full-term, 50th percentile newborn female measuring 21 inches and weighing 7 pounds. A wide variety of patient conditions can be simulated, ranging from cyanotic newborn with no vital signs to a moving, crying, vigorous newborn.

This birthing mother simulator from Gaumard is a wireless birthing manikin designed to exhibit the entire birthing experience. Learners are exposed to a variety of birthing scenarios, such as shoulder dystocia, breech delivery, and postpartum hemorrhage. Noelle™ can transition her physiological state quickly via changes on a wireless PC. Her physiological changes can be monitored on a maternal monitor that tracks her vital signs as well as the fetal heart rate.

Also from Gaumard is a wireless neonatal manikin that can be used independently or in conjunction with the Noelle birthing simulator. Features such as cyanosis, decreased body movement, pulses, vocal sounds, and chest rise enable training of both perinatal and pediatric crises. There is also a SimMan® and a SimBaby® available at the Sacramento Learning Center, one of SMU's regional satellite locations.

We have six of these Laerdal manikins, which simulate ECGs, heart sounds, breath sounds, bowel sounds, blood pressure, and pulses. Beginners and advanced students alike are able to improve their skills with health assessments using these easy-to-use manikins, and faculty have quickly learned to integrate them into the curriculum.

Learners use these Laerdal manikins to prepare for pre-hospital emergencies by practicing such life-saving skills as intubation, chest tube insertion and defibrillation. Sam-I-Am, the MegaCode Kid, is the pediatric version of the Kelly manikin.

This life-size cardio-pulmonary simulator exhibits all the physical signs of cardiac disease. Created at the Center for Research in Medical Education at the University of Miami, it is programmed with 30 cardiac conditions and more than 200 different bedside findings.